Inle Lake Highland Trek & Hill Tribe Walk
Trek the hills around Inle Lake — the Shan Plateau surrounding the lake is home to multiple ethnic communities (Pa-O, Danu, Taung-yo, Kayah, and Shan peoples) accessible by a network of mountain trails, and the multi-day trek from the lake through the highland villages to the tea plantations and forest paths provides the most complete encounter with the Shan Highland diversity.
- 1
Red Mountain Winery
Red Mountain Estate Vineyard (on the hills east of Nyaungshwe, the most successful of the Myanmar wine producers that have established vineyards on the well-drained slopes of the Shan Plateau at the elevation that provides the coolest growing conditions accessible in tropical Myanmar) is the most unexpected single attraction accessible in the Inle Lake area — the winery's production (the Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties grown at the 900m+ elevation that partially compensates for the tropical latitude's lack of winter dormancy) and the terrace restaurant (the most panoramic single view of Inle Lake accessible from any elevated position, with the full length of the lake visible below the vineyard's hillside) create the most unusual combination of wine tourism and lake panorama accessible at any single Southeast Asian destination. The sunset wine tasting on the Red Mountain terrace (the lake visible below in the golden hour light, with the wine glasses catching the last sun) is the most consistently recommended evening activity in the Inle Lake area.
- 2
Pa-O Village Trek
The Pa-O village trekking routes accessible from the eastern shore of Inle Lake (the highland trails connecting the Pa-O communities living in the forested hills above the lake, the Pa-O women identifiable by their distinctive black turban and indigo-dyed cotton dress) provide the most directly ethnographically informative single-day walk accessible in the Shan Plateau from the Inle Lake base — the Pa-O communities (the third-largest ethnic group in Shan State, with their own language, their distinctive dress, and their Buddhist tradition that includes both the Theravada monasticism and the nat spirit worship of the surrounding cultures) are the most accessible highland ethnic community for the trekking visitor using Nyaungshwe as a base. The trail from the lakeside to the Pa-O villages (the path climbing from the lake elevation of 900m to the village elevations of 1100-1300m through the pine forest that covers the Shan Plateau hillsides) provides the most complete landscape transition accessible from the lake shore within a single day's walking.
- 3
Kakku Pagoda Ruins
Kakku Pagoda complex (approximately 40km east of Inle Lake, accessible by longtail boat and then jeep or motorcycle through the Pa-O highlands) is the most spectacularly unusual archaeological site accessible as a day trip from the Inle Lake base — the complex (2478 ancient stupas clustered in a 1km² area on the plateau, the densely packed spires dating from the 3rd century BCE through the 18th century CE, covered with carved stucco decoration and topped with the distinctive multi-tiered spires characteristic of the Shan Buddhist stupa tradition) is the most concentrated single collection of ancient pagodas accessible at any site in Myanmar outside the Bagan plain. The Kakku visit's requirement for a Pa-O guide (the stipulation that all visitors hire a licensed Pa-O guide at the entrance, directly supporting the Pa-O community's management of their most important cultural site) is the most directly ethno-touristic encounter accessible from the Inle Lake area.
- 4
Indein Village & Ruins
Indein village and the Shwe Inn Thein Paya ruins (accessible by the boat journey to the southwestern shore of Inle Lake, then by the covered walkway up the hillside to the ruined stupa complex) combine the most atmospheric archaeological ruins with the most enchantingly overgrown temple landscape accessible at Inle Lake — the ruined stupas (the hundreds of ancient Shan-style stupas of various sizes scattered across the hillside above Indein village, their stucco decoration partially collapsed and their spires covered with the moss and the vegetation that provides the most romantically ruined temple atmosphere in Myanmar) and the restored main pagoda complex at the hilltop (the gleaming white new construction that provides the active religious centre above the ruined field) create the most complete contrast between the ancient and the contemporary religious landscape accessible at the lake. The covered walkway (the long roofed staircase decorated with the souvenir vendors selling the local crafts and the traditional textiles) is the most immediately lively approach to any temple site accessible in the Inle Lake area.
- 5
Highland Tea Plantation
The tea plantations in the highland areas accessible by trekking from the Inle Lake base (the Shan State tea (Camellia sinensis) grown at altitude on the plateau hillsides, producing the green tea that is the most culturally central beverage of the Shan communities and the fermented tea (laphet) that is the most distinctively Burmese food tradition) provide the most directly agricultural encounter with the highland economy accessible in the Shan Plateau trekking area — the tea picking (the hand plucking of the young tea shoots that is the most labour-intensive activity visible in the plantation, with the pickers (predominantly women) collecting the fresh flush in baskets carried on the back) and the traditional tea fermentation (the burial of the fresh leaves in bamboo tubes underground to ferment into the lahpet that is the Burmese national condiment-food) create the most complete tea culture experience accessible at any trekking destination in Myanmar.
- 6
Nyaungshwe Shan Market
The Nyaungshwe market (the daily market in the main gateway town serving the entire Inle Lake area, with the fresh produce from the floating gardens, the fish from the lake catches, and the highland produce from the Pa-O and other ethnic communities that descend to the lake town for the town's market days) is the most complete single commercial survey of the Inle Lake regional economy accessible to the visitor — the market's diversity (the floating garden tomatoes and cucumbers alongside the highland vegetables from the cooler altitudes, the fresh lake fish next to the dried and fermented varieties, and the traditional Shan Pa-O textiles alongside the modern manufactured goods) reflects the full social and geographical range of the communities that interact at Nyaungshwe. The morning market (most active from 6am to 9am, before the heat of the day reduces the visitor numbers and the produce supply dwindles) is the most sensory-rich single encounter accessible during the standard Inle Lake visit.